Sunday, October 31, 2021

Prophetic Portrayals

Read:  Psalm 31 / Proverbs 31 / 1 Kings 13 / Acts 2

 

Psalm 31:5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

Proverbs 31:8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

1 Kings 13:2 O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name… and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.

Ac 2:10,11 We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God… and they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

 

I hear the Lord commit His spirit

At last upon the cross of Christ.

The psalmist could foresee and hear it

Before the Lord was sacrificed. 

 

The Word of God is wonderful,

Portraying such prophetic scenes

With Good News for the thirsty soul,

For this is what the Gospel means. 

 

 

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Christ shall Come

Read:  Psalm 30 / Proverbs 30 / 1 Kings 12 / Acts 1

 

Psalm 30:7 LORD, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

Proverbs 30:4,5 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?... Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

1 Kings 12:24 They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned… according to the word of the LORD.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me… unto the uttermost part of the earth… This same Jesus… shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

 

The Lord upholds us with His favor,

Though sometimes He may hide His face

As we are taught to trust our Savior

And to depend upon His grace. 

 

He sends us by His Spirit’s power

To those who need a second birth

As we approach that coming hour

When Christ shall come to rule the earth. 

 


Friday, October 29, 2021

Foolishly Forsaken

Read:  Psalm 29 / Proverbs 29 / 1 Kings 11 / John 21

 

Psalm 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Proverbs 29:26 Many seek the ruler's favor; but every man's judgment cometh from the LORD.

1 Kings 11:31,33 Thus saith the LORD… I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon… they have forsaken me… and have not walked in my ways… as did David.

John 21:22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

 

Give God the glory He is due,

Regardless of what others say.

We dare not otherwise pursue

A ruler’s favor, come what may. 

 

Since we are prone to be mistaken,

We need God’s truth to make us see

When we have foolishly forsaken

The Lord who says to “Follow Me.” 

 


Thursday, October 28, 2021

Wisdom in His Word

Read:  Psalm 28 / Proverbs 28 / 1 Kings 10 / John 20

 

Psalm 28:1 O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

Proverbs 28:14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

1 Kings 10:24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

 

I daily hear my Savior talk;

His Word reminds me what He said

That I may fear Him in my walk

As by His Spirit I am led.

 

His Word puts wisdom in my heart,

And sometimes, like a surgeon’s knife,

His Word will purge my inward part,

That I may live a fruitful life.  

 


Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Behold the Beauty

Read:  Psalm 27 / Proverbs 27 / 1 Kings 9 / John 19

 

Psalm 27:1,4 The LORD is my light and my salvation… One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after… to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. 

Proverbs 27:11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

1 Kings 9:4,5 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart… Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised.

John 19:5,14 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns… Behold the Man!... Behold your King!

 

Behold the beauty of the Lord

Who is my Light and my Salvation!

The more His beauty is explored,

My heart is drawn with adoration. 

 

The Lord who calls me to be wise

Has shown to me His perfect plan:

The promised Lamb for sinners dies!

Behold your King!  Behold the Man!  

 


Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Curse in the Cup

Read:  Psalm 26 / Proverbs 26 / 1 Kings 8 / John 18

 

Psalm 26:11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.

Proverbs 26:2 The curse causeless shall not come.

1 Kings 8:56 Blessed be the LORD… there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised.

John 18:11 Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 

 

I’ll walk in my integrity

And thank the Lord I am redeemed.

He bore my curse to rescue me;

My sin was worse than it had seemed. 

 

I thank the Lord who holds me up

And keeps His promises He made. 

For me He drank the bitter cup!

My curse is gone!  My debt is paid! 

 


Monday, October 25, 2021

Temporary vs. Timeless

Read:  Psalm 25 / Proverbs 25 / 1 Kings 7 / John 17

 

Psalm 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

Proverbs 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

1 Kings 6:38; 7:1 The house [of the Lord] ... was he seven years in building it.  But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.

John 17:15,16 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 

The meek shall hear the Savior’s voice

And live to serve the King of kings. 

The proud shall soon regret their choice

To live for temporary things. 

 

The years that Solomon devoted

To build the house of God were seven,

But thirteen for his own were noted;

Beware!  Our timeless home is heaven. 

 


Memories on the Midway


 MEMORIES on the MIDWAY 

  While walking on the decks of the USS Midway, which is now nestled in San Diego’s harbor as a museum of maritime memories, my grandson Josiah, who accompanied me during a recent tour, remarked to another young tourist that his grandpa had been stationed on this ship.  Clearly impressed, the curious youth asked, “Is he still alive?”

     Yes, I’m still alive, as are the precious memories aboard the USS Midway that changed my life forever.  I certainly had no idea how profound that change would be when, on September 11, 1973, the Midway left Alameda for her new home port in Yokosuka, Japan, arriving on October 5, 1973 along with Carrier Air Wing Five, becoming the first forward-deployment of a carrier task group in a Japanese port.  In order to grasp the eternal depth of the change that took place, it will help to revisit my boot camp experience at Recruit Training Center (RTC) San Diego.

     In the summer of 1972 during my training at RTC San Diego, a Christian recruit in my unit, Joe Lieggi, asked me if I would be interested in talking about spiritual things.  He didn’t know that I had been pondering the uncomfortable inevitability of eternity for quite awhile, wondering if there was a credible answer to the question about what happens beyond the grave.  I accepted his offer, unloading years of my frustrated silence, challenging him to PROVE that his Christian view was right, to the exclusion of every other competing point of view.  He could not answer me, either to his satisfaction or mine, as he had only been a Christian a short while, and was frankly not prepared to objectively defend his faith.  I was a discouragement to him.  He was a disappointment to me.  But that would not be the last that I would hear from Joe Lieggi.  My first duty station was in Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, California, where Joe Lieggi caught up with me again.  He said that he was prepared to give me the answers that he had been unable to articulate in our last meeting.  At the time I was with another guitar-playing buddy who was definitely not interested in his presentation, so I put him off politely, and never found the time to get together with him while at NAS Lemoore.  Next stop:  USS Midway.

     Junior enlisted life on the USS Midway had its share of lonely midnight to 0400 watches on the flight deck.  That is where I began to really regret my missed opportunity to speak with Joe Lieggi at NAS Lemoore.  This was especially true after a catastrophic incident in my aircraft squadron (VA-56) just 17 days after our arrival in Yokosuka, Japan.  On October 22, 1973, one of our A-7A Corsair II pilots, LTJG Goodrow, was fatally involved in a mid-air collision with an EA-6A Intruder aircraft (VMCJ-1).  The SH-3G helicopter which was assigned to go to the collision site crashed off of Midway’s bow upon take-off for the SAR mission.  All three of the helicopter crew members perished.  That incident began to speak to me forcefully during those long mid-watches of gnawing emptiness.  Eternity.  Like it or not (I didn't), that ultimate reality was undeniably there, and I was right on LTJG Goodrow's heels, whether it was 10 minutes, 10 years, or more.  In a virtual blink of an eye (compared to eternity), I would be there.  Was there no way to know the truth?  I began to share my honest concerns with some of my closest shipmates; it only served to alienate them.  How bitterly alone I felt in an insanely apathetic world!  Who could I turn to?  That was when I began to formulate my crude "God, if You're there" prayers during those late night watches, complaining that if He WAS there, I was still looking for credible proof.  I was interested in hearing from Him if He was inclined to make Himself known to me.  What an awkward prayer!  Who would bother to give it any attention?  Answer:  The living God!  He looked right past the audacity of that prayer, and in pity saw my anguish.  It seemed that, without an audible voice answering me, I began to perceive the clear logic that God had neither been silent nor absent on the stage of earth, but had so uniquely identified Himself by the impact of Jesus Christ that our calendar is universally marked by His arrival into this world (B.C./A.D.).  I began to be stirred with a sense that God was breaking the silence— and that I had better pay attention!  Shortly after that, a Christian shipmate, Tony Tamble, asked me if I would like to go with him to the Christian Servicemen's Center in Yokosuka, Japan.  I accepted his invitation, intending to launch the same challenging questions there that I had raised with Joe Lieggi in boot camp.
 
     It was December 28, 1973.  The Christmas season seemed to reinforce in my mind that God had historically left His impact on this world.  I arrived with Tony Tamble at the Christian Servicemen's Center and was seated in a room with others who were listening to a visiting missionary, Dick Patty, who was presenting a testimony about his personal experience with Christ.  I listened, but was still preoccupied with my own unanswered questions, wondering if I could get honest answers, or if I would just be dismissed.  Was there actually concrete evidence that allowed people to logically accept the claims that God had unmistakably made Himself known?  Was there a way, apart from the confusion of conflicting religious traditions, to really know God?  Without spending too much time on the details of the conversation that followed, I was so relieved to find that my questions were not regarded as defiant threats, but were patiently answered in a way which convinced me that there was ample evidence to confidently trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The bottom line was plain:  I was a sinner (Romans 3:23).  I needed a Savior (Isaiah 45:21,22).  The Lord Jesus Christ was alone qualified to save sinners (John 14:6, 1 Timothy 1:15).  So now what was I going to do about it?  Dick Patty said that my condition was like being in a burning building.  There was an open window, the singular way out, and the One standing at the window was well able to rescue me, if only I would let Him.  The building floor was heated with the rising flames, and at any moment my hesitation could seal my doom... forever.  Mr. Patty asked me if I wanted to pray to receive Christ as my Savior, in view of the promise that He would enter if I sincerely invited Him (John 1:12,13, Revelation 3:20).  I prayed one of the clumsiest prayers I have ever prayed, and was saved by the grace of God.  I went back to the ship that night with a thrill that seemed to increase with every step back to the Midway.  I knelt down again on the green tile floor of my berthing compartment and thanked the Lord for saving me, repeating my prayer to receive Him in order to be sure that it was a settled personal matter between me and the Lord.  I was born again!  The Midway became my mission field with every meal conversation and every long line in which I stood (haircuts, chow, payday, etc.) to share my evidence-based faith with anyone who would listen.  Yes, I learned that speaking to people about Christ who weren’t interested in the truth was ineffective, yet I also learned that there were many who were genuinely searching for answers just as I was, anxious to hear a clear explanation of the Gospel in view of fulfilled prophecy, the historical reality of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His victorious resurrection.   

     Not long after this, I was transferred to the USS Kitty Hawk and stationed in San Diego, where I visited the Servicemen's Christian Home directed by Byron and Pearl Berry.  They sacrificially mentored me (and others like me) to grow in practical Christ-centered discipleship, Bible study, evangelism, and most of all, in the sincere worship of the One Who had first loved us.  Among the many blessings that God bestowed upon me through their ministry, they gave me their daughter Cindy in marriage (44 years ago in August 2021).  Byron is now with the Lord, and Pearl continues to be an inspiration to Cindy and me, as well as to our daughter Amber and her husband Marc with their growing family (now with ten children, all being trained to know and love the Lord).  What a blessing! 

      I retired after 24 years in the Navy as an Aviation Storekeeper Chief at NAS Alameda.  Can you guess who showed up in my final command?  Chief Joe Lieggi!  What a happy reunion, twenty years after he had spoken to me in boot camp!  Our God is awesome!

Please contact me if I can be of any help to you in your search for the truth and salvation that is found alone in the Lord Jesus Christ:

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Changeless Cheer

Read:  Psalm 24 / Proverbs 24 / 1 Kings 6 / John 16 

 

Psalm 24:1,2 The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

Proverbs 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established.

1 Kings 6:11,12 The word of the LORD came to Solomon…  Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes… and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

 

The earth belongs to Jesus Christ,

The Lord and Maker of creation,

Who for our sake was sacrificed

To thereby purchase our salvation. 

 

His Word is truth and shall not cease,

Though earth and heaven disappear,

For Christ, who is our changeless Peace,

Extends to us eternal cheer. 

 


Saturday, October 23, 2021

Prophetic Promises

Read:  Psalm 23 / Proverbs 23 / 1 Kings 5 / John 15 

 

Psalm 23:1,6 The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Proverbs 23:18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

1 Kings 5:12 The LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him.

John 15:22-25 If I had not come and spoken unto them… If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin… But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled… They hated me without a cause.

 

The reason for my expectation

Is that my Shepherd cannot fail.

He is the Lord of my salvation,

And where He leads, He shall prevail. 

 

His promises were proven true,

Foreseen in His prophetic laws. 

His enemies were seen there too: 

“They hated Me without a cause.” 

 


Friday, October 22, 2021

To Ransom and to Reign

Read:  Psalm 22 / Proverbs 22 / 1 Kings 4 / John 14

 

Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

Proverbs 22:20,21 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge… of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

1 Kings 4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand.

John 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

 

From all the ends throughout the earth

The people shall recall and know

How Jesus came in humble birth

To ransom sinners here below. 

 

The Lord has given certainty

About the future He makes plain

As in Psalm twenty-two we see

That Christ shall come again to reign. 

 


Thursday, October 21, 2021

Delightfully Do

Read:  Psalm 21 / Proverbs 21 / 1 Kings 3 / John 13

 

Psalm 21:1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

Proverbs 21:3,21 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice… He that followeth righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor.

1 Kings 3:10,28 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing… And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

John 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

 

In God’s salvation we rejoice

Because we know His Word is true. 

It pleased the Lord to give the choice

To do what He has said to do. 

 

This is the key to happiness

That God is putting on display. 

This is the path that He will bless

As we delightfully obey.  

 


Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Clean through Christ

Read:  Psalm 20 / Proverbs 20 / 1 Kings 2 / John 12

 

Psalm 20:6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

1 Kings 2:1,2 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son… I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man.

John 12:35 Jesus said… Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

 

The Lord said He would intervene 

To rescue us by His Anointed.

No one but Christ could make us clean,

And to this end, He was appointed.

 

Though we are sinners from our birth,

Our Lord gives peace amid the strife,

For though we die, like all the earth,

Through Christ we have eternal life. 

 


Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Judgments of Jesus

Read:  Psalm 19 / Proverbs 19 / 1 Kings 1 / John 11

 

Psalm 19:9-11 The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether... Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Proverbs 19:20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

1 Kings 1:50 And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

John 11:39,40 Take ye away the stone… Said I not… that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

 

The judgments of the Lord are true.

Let sinners give consideration

To what our Savior said to do

To find their refuge in salvation. 

 

When Jesus reigns, His foes shall fear

As all His judgments are made known.

The coming of the Lord draws near

When His great glory shall be shown.